The Pruning Process

By Chris Baxter

A prayer from my book, The Heartbeat of God:

I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. John 15:1

O God, You are the Vinedresser. First of all, I want to thank You that I am even considered a branch on the vine. For I know that I was once considered a wild olive, and was grafted in among the original branches and that I became a partaker with them of the rich root of the olive tree. Again, I humbly thank You for this act of grace on my behalf. Now, dear Jesus, I hear You say to me, “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, My Father takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it, that it may bear more fruit.” O God, I want to be a fruitful bearer of Your love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control; but, I must confess, sometimes Your pruning hurts. I know Your intentions are for my good and for Your glory, and in the long run, I will most certainly bear more fruit under Your knowledgeable care; but right now, Your pruning hand has afflicted me. You have taken away things that I thought I needed. I do realize, because of these losses, I have had to become more dependent upon You. Indeed, You now have become my all in all. And through this enduring process, I am learning to say from a sincere heart of faith, “I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing You as my Lord.” Therefore, let me hear again, Your beautiful words of assurance as I continually submit to Your shaping, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you, and appointed you, that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain.” Yes, wise Vinedresser, please continue Your good work in me.

John 15:5; Rom. 11:17; John 15:1; Gal. 5:22-23; Phil. 3:8; John 15:16

Subscribe & Receive Email updates:

+
You are now subscribed to receive daily prayers!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
You May Also Like...
All Writings
Prayer

What is Prayer?

All Writings

A Double Debacle

Life
All Writings
Marriage

My Son, "Dream On"

Daily Prayer

Love is not...

(Love) is not irritable or resentful.  1 Corinthians 13:5

Dear Lord,

Help us to love like you! Keep our emotions from ruling over us when we get aggravated or angry at someone. We ask for you to replace our bitter feelings with your beautiful Spirit. Cause us to breathe in your peace so we can breath out your love. Amen.